When Only One Teacher Showed Up: A Wake-Up Call for Our Schools
Last week, over 4,500 students in a school district sat together listening to Michael DeLeon, founder of Steered Straight, deliver one of the most urgent messages of our time: the truth about drugs, vaping, alcohol, and the dangerous choices threatening our youth. His words were raw, real, and rooted in lived experience. Students leaned in. Some cried. Many left changed.
That evening, a parent/educator night was held—an opportunity for families and educators to come together, to hear what their children had heard, and to unite in the fight for their futures.
Only one teacher showed up.
Let that sink in.
One teacher. Out of an entire district.
When asked why more educators weren’t present, the superintendent responded, “I can’t require teachers to attend events outside of their contracted hours.”
And while that may be technically true, it raises a deeper, more troubling question: Have we reached a point where the contract ends not just the workday, but the calling?
The Heart of the Matter
Let’s be clear: teachers are overwhelmed. They’ve been asked to do more with less—less support, less time, less respect. They’ve absorbed roles that once belonged to administrators, counselors, and even parents. They’re managing discipline, mental health crises, and academic benchmarks simultaneously. Burnout is real.
But here’s the hard truth: our kids are in crisis.
And if we don’t have healthy kids, we won’t have healthy adults. We won’t have a healthy country.
Education cannot be reduced to test scores and curriculum pacing guides. The classroom is not just a place for algebra and grammar; it’s a frontline in the battle for our children’s lives. Teachers spend more waking hours with students than most parents do. Their influence is profound, their presence matters.
So when a community comes together to address the very real dangers facing our youth—fentanyl, vaping, suicide, violence—and only one teacher shows up, it sends a message. And it’s not the one our kids need to hear.
Is It Apathy—or Exhaustion?
Some will say it’s apathy. Others will argue it’s exhaustion. Maybe it’s both. But either way, something has to change.
We need to reawaken the why behind teaching. We need to support educators not just with better pay and smaller class sizes, but with a renewed sense of purpose. We need to remind them—and ourselves—that education is not just about what goes into a child’s mind, but what shapes their heart, their choices, their future.
What Needs to Change?
Leadership must lead. Superintendents and principals must model engagement and prioritize whole-child wellness—not just academic metrics.
Contracts must evolve. If protecting kids from addiction and violence isn’t “part of the job,” then maybe it’s time to redefine the job.
Communities must unite. Parents, teachers, counselors, and prevention advocates must lock arms. This is not a one-person fight.
Teachers must remember their power. You are more than instructors. You are protectors, mentors, and lifelines. Your presence matters more than you know.
A Call to Action
To the one teacher who showed up: thank you. You mattered that night.
To the rest: we need you. Not just from 8 to 3, but as part of a movement to save our children. Not every day. Not every night. But when the call comes—when the moment matters—please, show up.
Because if we don’t fight for our kids, who will?
For more information, help, and resources, please visit www.steeredstraight.org or call (856) 691-6676
Our mission is to steer youth straight toward making sound, rational decisions through a learning experience that provides a message of reality to help them make positive, informed choices.
